Canucks: Brad May talks MacEwen, Sedin twins, Green and more
Part 2
Q: You had the opportunity to play with the Sedin Twins in their earlier years. They are such iconic players in Vancouver now with their careers complete. What did you learn from their earlier years that would have helped them become such legends on the Pacific West Coast?
“They were great players from the outset, a lot of pressure on them of course. Brian Burke did a magnificent job getting them. They were literally two guys, one brain. As teammates we saw them dominate at a level as teammates we couldn’t keep up to them in practice. It was only a matter of time until they were going to break out and do it. Their numbers are uncanny, how close they are in goals and assists. The entire body of work. When Daniel was hurt, Henrik won the scoring title. Both brothers, both amazing. They made each other better, but they made the players around them better too.”
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Q: The 2003-04 Canucks were stacked with talent. We’re talking West Coast Express, The twins, Linden, Kesler, Jovo, Salo, Ohlund, Cooke, Cloutier, and yourself. That team was expected to win it all! Did the locker room feel the same way? What happened?
“We lost in the first round in the 7th game. We came up against Jarome Iginla who literally was turning into the best power forward at the time taking it over from Bertuzzi who was (suspended) at the time. If Bert was in the series, we would have beat Calgary I believe. That being said, we fell short of our goal, we were a better team, should have done better, we underachieved, we thought we’d get through, they went to the finals. Does that mean the Canucks were close? Maybe. We obviously were a great team that underachieved”
Q: Going from playing with the 2003-04 “Cup Contending” Vancouver Canucks, to winning a Stanley Cup with the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks. What was the biggest difference between those two teams? What did the Ducks have that the Nucks did not?
“I would say the focus is number one. Focus to win. Two Hall of Fame defenseman in Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer. We had Ilya Bryzgalov and J.S. Giguere who stood on their heads. We were just a better team. Very very deep, maybe the single largest thing was that we were an older team. Good young players, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, but we also had a lot of older players with 15-16 years in the NHL. Those guys who hadn’t won yet, we were hungry.”